Saying farewell to Facebook could help your mental health
Is it time we put down Snapchat, deleted Facebook or disabled Instagram for a while, to give us not only a break from the perfect lives of others, but also to regain perspective?
- Suspend your accounts – suspending them for a week means you can take a break without the temptation to check for any new notifications.
- Take the time for face-to-face – cutting down on virtual messaging may free up time to meet your friends in person. This not only allows you to have a proper catch up, it also fills the void in terms of knowing what’s going on
- Regain your focus – how many times have you missed a crucial moment on TV due to checking someone else’s holiday photos? Not having these distractions will help you tune into the moment more freely.
- Get an alarm clock – it’s easy to use your phone as an alarm clock, but this encourages you to look at it as soon as you wake. Try a conventional alarm clock and turn your phone off overnight. The blue light used by phones disrupts sleep*, so it may help your sleep quality too by switching it off completely.
- Rather than going cold turkey it’s best to start small and build up to something. Why not start by turning off notifications for an hour, then two, building up to a whole day, or even a week at a time? Check out apps designed to block sites at certain times of the day. This helps to avoid that mindless checking and re-checking we all fall victim to!
Taking the plunge and giving up social media for a week or more can be an incredibly refreshing experience. It lets you live in the present, and remember memories in real-time, instead of via a camera lens. Technology has made it so easy for us to stay connected and to know our friends’ ins and outs, but it shouldn’t replace face-to-face contact as this is not always the healthy or desirable option.
Experiencing stress and mental health challenges is a normal part of many people’s lives – for additional support, visit AXA PPP healthcare.
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